This invention relates to conveying information about events by use of a computer.
A story can be told from several different viewpoints. The different viewpoints can stem from physical differences associated with the viewer's perspective, such as differences in viewer location, lighting, and background noise levels. The differences can also stem from physical differences between different viewers, such as their visual or auditory acuity. The differences can also stem from psychological differences between different viewers, such as their attitudes toward the event or to other events which are distracting them or from cultural differences between different viewers, such as in their interpretation of certain gestures, facial expressions and word usage. The point is that different people will perceive the same event differently.
One of the shortcomings of traditional methods of storytelling is the incapability of the traditional methods to effectively switch perspectives to show a different viewpoint of the same event at the option of the recipient. There is simply no way to switch back and forth between story lines using traditional techniques other than by simultaneously displaying both story lines side by side. Also, little has been done to show how psychological or cultural differences affect a viewer's perceptions.
The conveying of information via computers is a new field. One of the ways in which this new field is different from old methods of conveying information, such as books, movies, television, and video and sound recordings, is in the ability of the user to interact with the information source. Also, accessing particular items of information is nearly instantaneous using the new technology.
A movie technique using a computer to switch perspectives between different viewpoints "on the fly" would be extremely powerful and effective.